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So we’re all about practical applications of Classics, right? I always see various abbreviations of latinate terms, and I’m not exactly sure what means what and when to use ergo versus ie. I decided to figure out the differences between these terms.

Hopefully all of you are fans of The Office (and more importantly Dwight K. Schrute), so you may get my many references. In the episode Diversity Day, Dwight uses the phrase “tit for tit,” which is a corruption of “tit for tat” (which is ALSO a variation of “quid pro quo”).

Ergo- “therefore”

I.e. (id est)- “that is”or “in other words”

Et cetera (etc.)- “and other things” or “and the rest”

MA (Magister Artium)- “Master of arts”

MO (modus operandi)- “mode of opertaing,” used in criminal profiling and police investigation used to indicate someone’s motivation for commiting a crime

per cent. (per centum)- “for every one hundred”

Cum laude- “with praise” and the better you get you may be magna cum laude (with great praise) or summa cum laude (with highest praise)

Per se- “by itself”

Ph.D. (Philosophiæ Doctor)- Doctor of philosophy

P.m. (post meridiem)- the part of the day that everyone loves

R.I.P. (requiescat in pace)- “may he rest in peace”

I'll send a S.O.S. to the world

S.O.S. (si opus sit)- “if necessary”

Vs (versus)

Deus ex machina (ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός apò mēkhanḗs theós)- “god from the machine”, when some major problem in a play is resolved by a person or an event

Eureka (εὕρηκα, heúrēka)- “I have found it!”, we can thank Archimedes for this when he ran around Syracuse naked (also for noticing that he displaced an equal amount of water… good job)

Eg. (exempli gratia)- “for example” or “for instance”

Q.e.d. (quod erat demonstrandum)- “which was to be demonstrated,” commonly found at the end of mathematical proofs (which honestly is not all that common for me)

A.D. (anno domini)- “in the year of our Lord”

A.M. (anti meridiem)- we all hate being awake at this part of the day

Ad hoc- “for this,” designed for a specific problem or task

Bona fide- “in good faith”

Circa (c. or ca.)- “around”

Et al. (et alii)- “and others”

Habeas corpus- “you are to have the body”you cannot be jailed without reason, unless Lincoln says you have to

Ibid. (ibidem)- “in the same place”

Pro bono (pro bono publico)- “for the public good,” work undertaken by professionals (like lawyers) as public service

Per capita ( pro capite)- “for each head”

We all know Michael Scott would spend his per diem in one day to impress Jan Levinson (no Gould)

Per diem- “per day,” the amount of travel expenses an employee will get for a day of travel

Tabula rasa (blank slate)- John Locke used the term to desribe human beings as a blank slate at birth, shaped by their experiences and surroundings

Vice Versa- “the other way around”

Quid pro quo- “this for that”

In fide vestra virtutem, in virtute autem scientiam- “add faith to your virtue, and virtue to your knowledge,” Agnes Scott’s motto, which is something students may not be aware of!

Quid pro quo, Clarice

Also, I noticed while working on this that there are a decided lack of grecian terms (ie. Latin was waaayyyy easier to research, which was kind of weird).

And I thought this picture was necessary because I was watching Spinal Tap while I was working on all of this